Marchenko was recalled from Grand Rapids after Danny DeKeyser suffered a groin injury. He’s expected to make his NHL debut Saturday in Dallas.

“I don’t know much about him, he played in the KHL and he had a good camp,” Wings coach Mike Babcock said after practice Friday. “Every time I call down to Grand Rapids they say he’s their best guy. If you do well down there you get an opportunity here. It’s like anybody, you come up and try to make a case for yourself that you can stay, so that’s the opportunity he’s been given by the guys getting injured.”

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Marchenko has two goals and 14 assists in his first season in the American Hockey League in 33 games. He’s also tied for the team lead with a plus-15 rating.

“Just keep the tempo don’t try to think too much, just go out there and do what brought you here,” Niklas Kronwall said. “If he keeps playing his style of game I think he’ll do just fine.”

Marchenko was the final pick in the 2011 entry draft after behind passed over in the 2010 draft.

“You tell me,” Kyle Quincey said when asked to describe Marchenko’s game. “It’s a good opportunity for him. It’ll be fun to see what kind of player he is. I know the coaching staff and management are real eager to check him out.

“You’re going to be nervous, that’s typical,” Quincey added. “Just try and keep it simple and try not to do too much. The game will come to him. It’s a good time to do it, we’re on the road. The boys will take care of him. It’ll be a good time.”

Marchenko has been paired on the blue line with Xavier Ouellet, who has played three games this season in Detroit, in Grand Rapids.

The 6-foot-2, 212-pound right-hand shooting Marchenko spent four seasons in the CSKA Moscow system, one with the top team where he had four goals and five assists in 44 games.

“I got a contract with CKSA, so I finished it,” Marchenko said. “My goal was to work until the end of the contract and then think (about) what to do. I’m done with them. (The Wings) offered me a contract here so I decided to try here.”

“Most of the guys who play hockey it’s a goal to reach NHL level,” Marchenko added. “I think if you get a small chance to get here, you have to take it.”

He’s known as a strong skater and a good puck mover.

“He’s a great defensive player in our zone and very smart,” said Petr Mrazek, who played in Grand Rapids with him. “He’s always where he’s supposed to be. He skates well, he’s a smart player.”

Gustav Nyquist agrees with Mrazek’s assessment of Marchenko.

“He is a real solid, well-rounded player,” Nyquist said. “I think he’s a great D-man, plays good defensively and has offensive abilities as well. He has a great shot and good vision.”

Marchenko, 22, also has a good grasp of English which helps.

“(The Wings were) one of the favorite teams for most of the guys in Russia because of the Russian Five,” Marchenko said. “I followed most of the guys.”

DeKeyser suffered the groin injury early in the second period of the Winter Classic.

“I started feeling it during the game a little bit and then just kind of played through it,” said DeKeyser, who didn’t practice. “The trainers just kind of said let’s wait and see, take it day-by-day and go from there.”

DeKeyser had just returned after missing 15 games with a separated shoulder. He has two goals and eight assists in 27 games.

Eaves dislocates his jaw

Patrick Eaves suffered a dislocated jaw on the crosscheck he took from Toronto’s Joffrey Lupul in the first period Wednesday, but the best news is that he wasn’t treated for concussion-like symptoms.

“No testing for (a concussion),” Eaves said. “I felt good the whole time. It was just my (right) jaw. It didn’t feel good. A little scary there, but I’m ready to go now. It was pretty uncomfortable with my jaw being the way it was, my teeth weren’t lined up.”

Eaves wore protection around his jaw during practice and will do so Saturday in Dallas.

Lupul was assessed a $10,000 fine.

“I don’t really care,” Eaves said when asked if he felt Lupul should be suspended. “It’s not up to me. That’s for the league to decide. It has no impact on our upcoming games, that’s all I’m worried about.

“I wanted to play more in the game because it was a huge game,” Eaves continued. “He made the decision to do what he did. Nothing I could do about it. I didn’t see it coming. I was just trying to get the puck out.”

Babcock said Datsyuk was given a “maintenance day” and should be ready to go Saturday.

-- Babcock on the team’s point total goal by season’s end, “100-plus. That’s the number I’m always looking for, 100-plus, but when you do the math, multiple it by two, we’ve got 46, so we’re eight short anyway you look at it, so we need to have a big second half.”

-- Daniel Cleary is happy to be done with the HBO cameras in the room. “When you’re not winning you’re not in a great mood. When things aren’t going well on the ice it just sucks having someone in your face asking you questions. You try and be as polite as you can, but it was trying of sure. They’re good guys. They were great to have around. It’s a little different, the everyday thing.”

Send comments to chuck.pleiness@macombdaily.com and visit his blog at redwingsfront.wordpress.com